PRIVATE SECURITY GUARD INDUSTRY CLAIM EXAMPLES

Investigative Claim

  1. A group of investors hired an investigative agency to check out a developer they were thinking of investing with. The investigative agency gave the developer a clean bill of health. The investors invested $10,000,000 in the developers project. The project failed. The investors hired another investigative agency to find out what happened. The second investigative agency uncovered that the developer had a poor credit history, numerous liens filed against him and a history of failed projects. The investors sued the first investigative agency for an incomplete and inaccurate report in the amount of $10,000,000...Most liability policies would not cover this Professional Liability Claim because it resulted in financial loss and not bodily injury or property damage.

Security Claims

  1. A security company was hired to provide guard services at a large office building in the Midwest. During the security contract period, a rape, two assaults, and a rash of burglaries in the building were reported to the police. Numerous tenants canceled or did not renew their leases, citing the poor security in and around the building as the reason.

    The building owner sued the security company for $5,000,000, alleging inadequate security and citing the loss of rental income and irreparable damage to the building's reputation. The security company's insurance company refused to cover the loss because it did not result in bodily injury or property damage.

  2. A security guard at a water purification plant, carrying his own gun, shot six employees, killing two. Multiple lawsuits totaling $8,000,000 were filed against the security company that employed the guard, alleging negligence in its screening and supervision procedures. The security company's general liability insurer denied coverage based on a "criminal acts" exclusion in the policy form. The security company subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

  3. A security guard was arrested for throwing a lit match into a display case at a shopping mall. The fire that ensued destroyed over 20 stores, shut down the mall for months, and cost the lives of two store employees. Numerous lawsuits were filed against the guard service that employed the guard whose act of arson started the fire. The guard service's insurance company denied the claim on the grounds that the guard's act was intentional and, therefore, not covered under the guard service's GL policy.

  4. A security guard at a bookstore repeatedly used sexually explicit language in speaking to a young sales clerk in the store. His language and his manner upset and embarrassed the clerk to the point that she reported it to her manager The store manager in turn reported the guard's behavior to the guard's supervisor. In spite of numerous complaints, the guard was neither reprimanded nor removed from the store. The sales clerk eventually quit and filed suit against the store and the guard service. The guard service's insurance company denied coverage on the grounds that sexual harassment against a fellow employee or a third party was excluded.

Claim examples are based on actual cases, composites of actual cases, or hypothetical situations. It is our policy not to release claim case numbers or any specific details.